SmartSat CRC Pledges $7M for Autonomous AI Spacecraft Development
Tuesday, 04 July 2023 09:00The three-year project, Spacecraft Autonomy and Onboard AI for Next Generation Space Systems, known as SCARLET-a, will bring together eight SmartSat partners: Airbus, Asension, Deakin University, Defence Science and Technology Group, Leonardo Australia, Saab Australia, Swinburne University of Technology, and University of South Australia (UniSA) in a collaborative research effort. SCARLET-
Satellites offer enhanced early warning systems for disaster-prone Asian communities
Tuesday, 04 July 2023 09:00Findings from a recent study underscore the potential for satellite-based early warning systems to bolster evacuation protocols in certain Asian communities. Published on April 27, 2023, in the Emergency Management Science and Technology journal, the study highlights the limitations of conventional ground-based telecommunication systems in regions such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Mongolia.
Chinese private space company to launch latest rocket in 2024
Tuesday, 04 July 2023 09:00In the vanguard of the rapidly evolving commercial space industry, Beijing-based private firm Space Pioneer plans the inaugural launch of its TL 3 carrier rocket in 2024. The launch will signify an ambitious stride toward fortifying China's presence in the commercial space launch market. As reported in an exclusive interview with China Daily, Kang Yonglai, founder and chairman of Space Pio
Unfavorable weather delays final Ariane 5 launch
Tuesday, 04 July 2023 06:57The farewell flight of Europe's workhorse Ariane 5 rocket, scheduled for Tuesday, has been postponed for 24 hours due to bad weather, operator Arianespace said.
The 117th and final flight of an Ariane 5 rocket, after 27 years of launches, had been due to take off between 2130 and 2305 GMT from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
"Due to unfavorable winds at high altitude above the Guiana Space Centre, Arianespace decided not to start the final phase of the launch preparation operations," the French firm said.
The nearest launch window was now between 2200 and 2305 GMT on Wednesday "if weather conditions are favorable", it added.
The final flight of an Ariane, whose launches have punctuated life in Kourou for nearly three decades, was originally scheduled for June 16.
It was postponed the day before because of problems with pyrotechnical lines in the rocket's booster. The lines have since been replaced.
The final payload on an Ariane 5 is a French military communications satellite and a German communications satellite.
The arrival in 1996 of the Ariane 5, which was able to carry a far bigger load than its predecessor Ariane 4, allowed Europe to establish itself in the communication satellite market.
Ariane 5 flight VA261: weather delays launch
Tuesday, 04 July 2023 06:45Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket is being prepared for its final launch, following the replacement of pyrotechnical transmission lines which delayed its earlier scheduled liftoff. Due to unfavourable weather Flight VA261 will now lift off no earlier than 5 July at 23:00 BST/00:00 CEST, pending suitable conditions for launch. You can follow live on ESA Web TV; transmission starts 30 minutes before earliest liftoff time.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe completes 16th close approach to the sun
Monday, 03 July 2023 19:17NASA's Parker Solar Probe accomplished a milestone on June 27, 2023—its 16th orbit of the sun. This included a close approach to the sun (known as perihelion) on June 22, 2023, where the spacecraft came within 5.3 million miles of the solar surface while moving at 364,610 miles per hour. The spacecraft emerged from the solar flyby healthy and operating normally.
On Aug. 21, 2023, Parker Solar Probe will swing past Venus for its sixth flyby of the planet. To prepare for a smooth course, the mission team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) applied a small trajectory correction maneuver on June 7, 2023, the first course correction since March 2022.
This flyby will be the sixth of seven planned flybys of Venus during Parker's primary mission. Parker uses Venus's gravity to tighten its orbit around the sun and set up a future perihelion at just 4.5 million miles from the sun's surface.
NASA locks four crew members into a one-year mission in a simulated Mars habitat
Monday, 03 July 2023 16:44On June 25, 2023, a crew of four volunteers entered a simulated Martian habitat, from which they will not emerge for over a year. Their mission: to learn more about the logistics—and the human psychology—of living long-term on another planet, without ever leaving the ground.
The mission is called CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) and is the first of three planned simulations between now and 2026, each of which will teach scientists progressively more about what it takes for long-duration human spaceflight to succeed.
CHAPEA is based at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The habitat, called Mars Dune Alpha, is a 1,700 square-foot 3D-printed living space, in which the crew will live, work, exercise, sleep, and perform experiments.
Through the magic of virtual reality, the mission will also involve extra vehicular activities (EVAs), in which crew members will briefly leave their habitat to enter an adjacent enclosure complete with red sand.
Alone in a dark cave: What can we learn from extreme survival experiments?
Monday, 03 July 2023 15:58Why do humans undertake journeys of personal exploration, or subject themselves to challenging conditions for long periods of time? What might we learn from their experiences?
British mountaineer George Mallory undertook his fatal attempt to summit Mount Everest in 1924 simply "because it's there". While such quests may have deeply personal motivations, research carried out during expeditions in extreme conditions can contribute to our understanding of how humans respond to environmental challenges.
The research outcomes can potentially be applied to a variety of settings, including remote locations here on Earth and even human space exploration.
Searching for extreme environments
Many explorers seek out "extreme environments." This term describes harsh and unusual environmental conditions where it is difficult for life forms like humans to survive and thrive.
Examples include places that experience extremes of temperature, pressure, altitude, rainfall, breathable air, natural light, or hazardous chemical concentrations.
In recent years, humans have undertaken many extreme experiments, either alone or in groups.
In June 2023, Joseph Dituri, a biomedical engineer at the University of South Florida, completed a record-breaking 100 days living 9.15 meters underwater in a special habitat.
Hawai'i observatories add color, depth to European Euclid mission
Monday, 03 July 2023 15:19Launched on July 1, 2023, the European Euclid mission will observe billions of galaxies over one-third of the sky to create a map of the Universe. But Euclid's map will be in black and white; telescopes in Hawai'i, including the Subaru Telescope, are needed to determine the colors of the galaxies. The color data will be used to deduce the distance, thus creating a 3D map, uncovering the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy.
The European Space Agency (ESA) Euclid space telescope mission will explore the mysteries of dark matter, dark energy, and cosmic evolution.
First data from Europe’s Lightning Imager
Monday, 03 July 2023 12:00Discover the first results from Europe’s first Lightning Imager onboard the Meteosat Third Generation. The Lightning Imager can continuously detect rapid flashes of lighting in Earth’s atmosphere whether day or night from a distance of 36 000 km.
This is the first time a geostationary weather satellite has the capability to detect lightning across Europe, Africa and the surrounding waters. Each camera can capture up to 1000 images per second and will continuously observe lightning activity from space. The data will give weather forecasters greater confidence in their predictions of severe storms.
European satellite strikes lightning
Monday, 03 July 2023 10:50The first ever satellite instrument capable of continuously detecting lightning across Europe and Africa has now been switched on. New animations from the innovative ‘Lighting Imager’ confirm the instrument will revolutionise the detection and prediction of severe storms.
Watch live: First data from Europe’s first lightning detector
Monday, 03 July 2023 08:40Watch live: First data from Europe’s first Lightning Imager
Tune in at 14:00 CEST for the first results from MTG’s lightning detector
Commanding role for Andreas in space
Monday, 03 July 2023 06:00ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen will be commander of the International Space Station (ISS) during his Huginn mission, becoming the sixth European astronaut to fulfil this role.
SpaceX Dragon splashes down carrying 3,600 pounds of samples, experiments
Monday, 03 July 2023 01:28A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down off the coast of Florida Friday, carrying about 3,600 pounds of scientific experiments and samples from the International Space Station. The Dragon detached from the ISS's Harmony module Thursday and made a parachute-assisted splashdown at about 10:30 EDT off the coast of Florida Friday. The Dragon spacecraft was launched from Kenned